| Many
years ago, both Sports
Afield (June
1977) and Bassmaster
magazines
carried articles about
hybrid or cross-bred Bass
which were so aggressive
that they attacked dogs
and swimmers in the
water! Here
is some background to
these stories, courtesy
of www.pondboss.com
which prove them to be,
for the most part, true!
Research
was conducted on the
hybridization of Northern
Largemouth Bass and
Northern Smallmouth Bass
by Paul
Richard Beaty
from 1976 to 1978. The
resulting hybrid was
dubbed the "Meanmouth"
Bass. Wild
bass of both species were
collected from the wild
and manually stripped.
The Smallmouth male x
Largemouth female cross
did produce viable and
fertile offspring also
capable of reproducing.
The reciprocal cross
(Largemouth male x
Smallmouth female) had an
almost 0% survival rate.
Growth
of the Smallmouth male x
Largemouth female hybrid
was not significantly
different to that of the
Northern strain
Largemouth, but was
significantly different
to the Smallmouth, ie.
better/ faster.
Dr.
Homer Buck of
the Illinois Natural
History Survey has
indicated that in his
work with the meanmouth
bass, some fish displayed
an increased
aggressive nature
(call it hybrid vigour,
if you like), however
this trait was not
displayed by all fish in
a given lot or batch. So,
maybe those
"Meanmouths"
really did attack those
dogs and swimmers!
Hmmmm ...
how about a Smallmouth
male x Florida strain
female cross! These
offspring should, by all
expectations, be both
massive and mean! What a
combination! Just
daydreaming ...
Here is a
pic of some Bass hybrids,
also showing the
"Meanmouth"
Bass, second from the
bottom on the right:
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